


The Getaway

by wallowingwillow



Category: Adore You - Harry Styles (Song), Fine Line - Harry Styles (Album), One Direction (Band), Sweet Creature - Harry Styles (Song), Walls - Louis Tomlinson (Album)
Genre: Escape, Ficlet, Fluff, Inspired by Music, Inspired by Real Events, Legal Drama, M/M, Music, On the Run, Secret Relationship, Short One Shot, Stolen Moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:28:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallowingwillow/pseuds/wallowingwillow
Summary: The night they decided to give it all up and run.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

He could hear the echo of his breathing on the other end of the line; unsteady, percolating with that animalistic fear that comes before the hunt begins. 

“Do you have everything ready?” 

“Yeah, it’s all packed in the Range Rover.”

“Good. When does your jet leave?”

“11:50 tonight. Harry, are you sure this is gonna work?”

“Yes, love. _Every_ attorney we've talked to said it's going to work. Lou, I know you’re worried but they all said the same thing: all we have to do is breach the libel clause. It’s going to work. They just never thought we’d do it.”

He heard Louis take a deep, invisible breath through the phone. 

“And you’re sure you want to do this? Absolutely sure?”

“Lou… I love you. I’ve loved you for a decade and I’ve never stopped. Not once.” He paused, fearful of why he’d posed the question in the first place. “Are _you_ sure?”

“Of course I am. I never would have joined the band if I knew it meant…” 

“Don’t say that.” 

A silence distilled between them for a moment. 

“Martin’s releasing the video to the press first thing tomorrow morning. Liesl expects she’ll have the demands of both nullification contracts by midday. She’ll have them Fedexed from their local office when we get there.”

“And that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Louis’ breath turned shaky, rattling for a moment with disbelief. 

“Darling. Go or you’ll miss your flight. I’ll be right behind you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Harry ended the call and let out a shaky breath himself. He looked around his basement studio, taking it in for what he knew was the last time. The shelves of countless trophies and plaques awarding his work, the framed photos of the boys, his friends, producers, his band. He picked up a photo of him and Lou he kept on the piano. 19 year old Louis grinned from ear to ear at a 17 year old Harry on a stage somewhere in the states. In a twisted way, sometimes the stage was the only place they’d ever felt close to free. 

Harry set the photo down and flicked off the light, heading upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Louis tugged his beanie down over his forehead. It was a short distance from the security gate to the private jet tarmac, but not short enough for him to go unnoticed. Ray, his bodyguard, flanked him protectively as they made their way across the terminal. 

They’d planned it as best they could. His only personnel was his bodyguard, he’d leave late in the evening on a Tuesday, in as much of a pedestrian outfit as they could manage. He flicked his eyes down as a woman walked by with her boyfriend, eyeing him carefully as she passed. 

“Shit,” Louis whispered. Ray instinctively shifted closer, but the woman and her partner carried on. Close one, he thought to himself. 

They arrived at the private gate, and as he handed over his passport he felt a tap on his shoulder. His heart sank, and his stomach flooded with fear. This was so risky. The second anyone found out he was on the move his phone would be blowing up and he might not make it out. He turned around. 

The woman had come back for him. She was shaking, but thankfully seemed pretty quiet otherwise. The airport was mostly empty, save for a few people dozing by their gates.

“Hi Louis,” she said, beaming. “I just want to say I love you, I love your music.”

“Aww that’s very sweet, love, thank you,” he mumbled, trying to hurry this encounter along. 

“Would you mind?” she handed him a scrap of paper. 

“Course darling, what’s your name?” 

“Madeline,” she giggled.

“That’s a lovely name, Madeline, that is,” he said, filling the awkwardness. Something felt like a small gut punch inside his heart. He really did love the fans, but tonight he didn’t have room for errors. He hurriedly signed the paper and thrust it back. 

“Could I have a hug?”

“Yeah, of course! Get in here,” even though his heart ached at the gesture. This might, he just realized, be the last fan he interacted with for quite some time. Years, maybe. 

“You know what Madeline love, one more thing.” He didn’t really know what came over him, but if this was the last fan he’d see for awhile he wanted to give them something to remember him by. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them all without a word. It had been one of his main concerns with this whole plan; abandoning his fans. He reached into his backpack and fished out a blue bandana. Harry’s blue bandana. 

He grabbed her hand and buried the fabric in her fist, looking her dead in the eye. He didn’t let go. 

“Madeline, I want you to have this okay?” giving her a meaningful look. She looked down at the ball of blue fabric in her hand, and back at him, eyes widening. “Tell everyone I love them so much.”

“Louis, what…” 

“Don’t worry darling, I’m fine. Just tell everyone that, can you do that for me love?”

She nodded. 

“Alright, off you go then. I’ve got a plane to catch,” and he gently guided her hand out of his. She slowly backed away, a mix of shock, fear, and disbelief in her eyes. 

Louis turned to his bodyguard, antsy to get going. “Well, Ray, guess this is it lad.”

“It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Tomlinson,” he said. He was going to miss his silent, ever-loyal sentinel.

“Damnit Ray, you wanker, I’ve told you for five years to call me Louis,” he said, eyes misting over despite his best efforts to be an arse. 

“It’s been a pleasure, Louis,” he smiled. 

And with that Louis turned and headed down the jetway.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry sat in the buttery leather seat of the charter jet, looking pensively out the window. He glanced at his phone. 4:00 a.m. In a few hours the media outlets would have their video. Their management teams would be in crisis mode, ringing his and Louis’ many mobile phones off the hook. They’d planned for this, leaving all but their personal devices. The only person they needed to be able to contact was Liesl, their attorney. 

He looked down below as London began to fade away. He thought of the hundreds of thousands of fans who lived down there; tiny little people in their tiny little homes listening to his tiny little records. It had been his parting gift, that cotton candy colored album. He knew it when he wrote it, knew he wouldn’t write after that. There wasn’t any point to it if he couldn’t truly live the life he’d spent ten years lusting after under the cover of darkness. He could write a hundred albums, spill all the ink he had to give, and none of it would ever be enough to make up the difference. To fill the gaping hole meant for the one thing he loved most in this world.

“Beverage or a nosh for you, Mr. Styles?” asked the attendant. 

“No, thank you.”

“Of course, sir. We’ll be laying over in Bangkok to refuel and change pilots in about 12 hours before we land in Osaka. Let me know if you need anything.”

He barely nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Louis stood, paced across the bamboo floors, returned to his seat, and then stood to pace once more. The place they’d chosen was stunning, if much smaller, but he’d hardly been able to notice. He forced himself to look out the bay windows and admire the lush, overflowing Japanese garden in the back. The house smelled like clean water and peonies, and the crisp white furniture looked like a blank canvas. The surrounding ocean would, just as they’d planned, deter any curious visitors, but once he arrived he realized they were so far from the main bustle he doubted anyone would know this place existed. 

He glanced nervously at the two stacks of paper on the counter. He’d ignored fourteen phone calls from his manager until he finally couldn’t any longer. When he’d picked up, he barely even registered the tirade that landed on him from 8,000 miles away, responding only to say “we’re signing them,” before hanging up. 

He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone, tapping the twitter app. He needed to see how big it was. His heart rate quickened. “Larry is free,” “Long Live Larry,” and “Where is Larry?” were all trending worldwide. Comment after comment filled his feed as he scrolled. 

“This has escape written all over it. ARE THEY FINALLY FREE?”

“Guys, you realize this means they violated their contracts right?”

“Scandalous video? Two broken contracts? On the same day? They’re on the run for surrrreee.”

“IT’S HAPPENING. RED ALERT, WE NEED EVERYONE ON STANDBY”

“BUT WHERE DID THEY GO??? Captain Niall bring our boys back pls.”

“Are they safe tho? What if they…”

The door of the house rattled as someone fumbled with a key. Louis’ heart leapt and he ran to the foyer. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pulling the door open. 

The prince looked up at him, flashing those cheeky dimples he knew damn well no one could resist. His heart skipped a beat, maybe two, before a huge smile spread across his own face. 

“Honey, I’m home?” Harry said with a devilish grin.


	5. Chapter 5

Louis and Harry sat at the kitchen counter holding hands, poring over the stack of papers that addressed each of them in severe-sounding legalese. Liesl’s face glowed at them from the video chat screen. The courrier stood across from them, waiting like a hawk to get the papers to the post as soon as the ink dried.

“Last page, guys. This is just the final agreement stating you assume liability for any lawsuits made against your respective music licenses, masters, or trademarked property and that all liability is released from your respective record labels and management.”

He felt Harry’s hand squeeze his tight under the table. They took a deep breath together. 

“This is it,” he said. 

“This is it,” Harry echoed. He squeezed one more time and they released each other’s hand to sign their names at the bottom of the page. 

“Congratulations, you two. I’ll be in touch with some follow up paperwork next week, but the hard part is over. Enjoy yourselves, you’ve earned it.” 

They hung up the call and the courrier swooped in to stuff the papers in an envelope. He was gone with barely a goodbye, and suddenly, the house was empty. Silent. Peaceful. 

“There’s one more thing we need to do,” Louis said. 

“Darling no, I’m tired and I just want to kiss you all night long,” Harry cooed, eyes pleading like a golden retriever. He was irresistible, that man. 

Louis pulled out his phone and started typing a tweet. He felt Harry rest his chin on his shoulder, kissing his ear distractingly. 

“Hang on love, I promise, just one second,” he smiled, trying to stay focused. He finished typing and held the phone up so Harry could see. He read quietly for a moment. 

“Perfect. Now hit send and come kiss me, you fool.” 

Louis hit send tweet and abandoned his phone on the counter.


	6. Epilogue

The tube zoomed past Picadilly as Madeline sleepily nursed her coffee and scrolled her phone. The blue bandana cuffed her wrist nicely, and she hadn’t taken it off in three days. She couldn’t stop thinking about the strange encounter she’d had with her idol, and the flood of gossip columns and celebrity news articles that had come only the day after. What had it all meant? Where had he been going in such a hurry that night? And why had he seemed so flustered?

A banner flashed across her phone. “New tweet from Louis Tomlinson,” it read. She tapped it eagerly and his profile slid onto her screen. 

She gasped out loud. The woman across the aisle shot her a look for disrupting the morning commute. A huge smile spread across her face as the tweet stared up at her from the screen. It read, quite simply:

“Always in our hearts. Sincerely yours, L & H.”


End file.
